Land Acknowledgement
The Stratford School acknowledges that much of our work takes place on the traditional territory of the Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee, and Ojibway/Chippewa peoples. This territory is covered by the Upper Canada Treaties. Our active work toward reconciliation take place across our campuses through research, teaching, learning, and community building, and is co-ordinated within our Office of Indigenous Relations.
About the Stratford School
The Stratford School of Interaction Design and Business at the University of Waterloo offers interdisciplinary undergraduate and graduate programs that focus on the critical exploration of design and technology within a global business framework.
Our students and faculty combine business expertise with human-centered design to create innovative solutions to current and future needs challenges in collaboration with industry partners. In particular, we develop collaborative interdisciplinary perspectives to responsibly design for societal, sustainable, economic, health and technological futures.
Our Campus
The Stratford School Campus is located in downtown Stratford.
The building has an open-concept design with classrooms, media facilities, research labs and, a wealth of project rooms and collaboration spaces. It was purposely designed to encourage natural collaboration. Unlike traditional learning spaces, we are about flexibility and community.
Our Programs
The programs offered at the Stratford School the first of their kind in Canada to combine creativity, technology and business with a human-centered approach.
Teaching
At the Stratford School of Interaction Design and Business, our focus is digital media in teaching and research. We are leading an evolution in learning and career preparation. Students at the undergraduate and graduate levels will be immersed in a rich, technology-driven environment where theory and practice, science and commerce, creativity and innovation merge to explore new forms of digital media and technology.
As a teaching and research intensive university, the University of Waterloo and the Stratford School believe in the integration of theory and practice. Expect a rich learning experience incorporating a strong academic foundation team- and project-based learning, scholarship, research, innovation in classroom teaching, experiential learning and industry mentorship.
Research
Our award-winning faculty come from both academia and industry. Outside the classroom they collaborate with researchers from other areas, develop new approaches to design and technology, identify new opportunities for business, design games, interactive art, and VR/AR. They develop new ways for teams to work together, examine how new technologies impact privacy and safety, teach businesses how to thrive and much more.
Our commitment to innovation and connection to industry play a key role in ensuring you will gain the skills you need to succeed throughout your career.
Experiential Education and Industry Partnerships
Our students are talented critical thinkers who ask meaningful questions and push creative boundaries to bring new and engaging solutions to your organization.
Our programs combine academics with work term experiences that enable our students to bring you diverse insights, innovative solutions, and industry-ready practices to bring new and engaging solutions to your organizations.
Find Out More
To learn more about Industry Partnerships at the Stratford School, please contact our Director.
Undergraduate Co-op Work Terms
Our specialized co-op program for GBDA undergraduates enables students to gain valuable real-world experience in areas such as user-experience research and design, marketing, graphic design, organizational behaviour and digital media, including UX/UI, visual/product design, digital marketing, graphic design, and social marketing strategy.
Course-Based Projects
Our upper level and graduate courses feature project-based learning opportunities designed in collaboration with industry partners. These full-term in-class projects take place in the fall and winter semesters and are available to both our undergraduate and graduate programs.
MDEI Milestone Projects
In place of a thesis, our MDEI graduate students will work in teams of 3-5 on complex forward-thinking project-based challenges within our partner organization. Our students combine theory with business practices to propose, develop and implement timely, innovative solutions to enable businesses thrive.
Our Address
125 St. Patrick Street
Stratford, ON
N5A 0C1
Phone: 519-888-4567, ext 23000
Get directions on Google.
Campus Hours
From Sept 3, 2024
Monday - Friday, 8:30 am - 10:00 pm
Bradshaw (DMS 2) will close at 9:00 pm
Saturday and Sunday 11:00 am to 8:00 pm
Bradshaw (DMS 2) will close at 7:00 pm
University Closures
During University Closures – all classes are cancelled and offices are closed.
- Victoria Day – Monday, May 20, 2024
- Canada Day – Monday, July 1, 2024
- Civic Day – Monday, August 5, 2024
- Labour Day – Monday, September 2, 2024
- Thanksgiving Day - Monday, October 14, 2024
- University Holiday Closure - Tuesday, December 24 - Dec 31, 2024
- New Year's Day - Wednesday, January 1, 2025
The full list can be found on the Important Dates Calendar